Anyone in the process of buying or selling a manufactured home needs to invest in a manufactured home inspection. Admittedly, home buyers will likely get the most benefit from an inspection, but they can be just as beneficial to a seller.
Buying a mobile home is a tedious process, especially if you are doing it privately, meaning there aren’t any dealers or banks involved.
After you’ve ensured the seller has the correct title and there are no holds or liens on it you’ll want to hire an inspection for the mobile home. Learn about mobile home titles here.
In this article, we are going to cover the basics of a manufactured home inspection. Why you need one, what you can expect to learn from an inspection, how to find a knowledgeable manufactured home inspector, and what you can expect to pay for the service.
WHY DO I NEED AN INSPECTION?
To put it bluntly, you need to get an inspection on every home you intend to buy to protect yourself and your investment.
Manufactured homes are constructed differently than a site-built home. These differences can create unique issues that a typical homeowner wouldn’t know. For example, in some manufactured homes, the floors may hang out beyond the width of the home’s I-beams. If steel outriggers aren’t attached to the I-beams to support the weight of the extended floors, then the walls may separate from the roof. This separation is called crowning, and it is not easy to repair. You would not want to buy a home with this issue.
An inspector would find issues under the home such as this pier failure:Fallen piers are not healthy for a manufactured home. They must be fixed as soon as possible.
HOME INSPECTIONS PROTECT ALL PARTIES.
If you are buying a home, an inspection is an investment that can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. In addition to saving money, hiring an inspector can save you a lot of time and headache in the future. Inspectors have tools such as moisture readers that can give you information not available with the naked eye. These tools, combined with a licensed inspector’s knowledge, are invaluable to a home buyer.
If you are selling a home, hiring an inspector to look over the home before you put it on the market can help you find and make repairs. Having these repairs done before a buyer enters the equation can help sell a home faster and possibly at a higher price.
A manufactured home inspection would see that the belly wrap was ripped and the insulation was loose. Belly wraps are vital to a healthy manufactured home.
Inspections also protect banks, real estate agents, and even insurance companies. In many situations, an inspection is needed before a bank or lending institution will provide a loan. Some states require all home sells to have an inspection and an appraisal done on the property before the sale is complete.
In short, an inspection should be considered an absolute necessity for all parties involved in buying or selling a mobile or manufactured home.Roof rafters on an older mobile home.
WHAT EXACTLY IS A MOBILE HOME INSPECTION?
A manufactured home inspection is a complete inspection of the home, from the roof to the ground. There are specific areas that are thoroughly inspected such as roofs, plumbing, electricity, heating and cooling, and flooring.
A competent, licensed inspector for manufactured homes understands the unique issues of factory-built homes. This knowledge allows them to pinpoint current and future issues that may be unsafe, lower the value of the home, or be too expensive to repair.
In the InterNACHI forum, a manufactured home inspector shared a list of the ten most important things in a manufactured home inspection:
- Proper marriage line alignment
- Overextended Jack heads
- Wood pads with cracks
- Squeaking floors, warped or bowing floors that could mean water damage
- Toilets with bad wax rings, loose flanges, or a wobble
- A moisture barrier, belly wrap is present and healthy with no tears
- Damage around water heaters and furnaces
- Pier Spacing
- Healthy outrigger with no visible sagging
- Sagging ceiling panels (caused by broken 1″x2″ or 2″x2″ rafters)
MANUFACTURED HOME INSPECTION REPORT EXAMPLES
When the inspector is finished you will receive a multi-page report filled with photos and details of any issue they have found during the inspection. This makes for a more informed buying decision.
A report from an inspector should be thorough. Expect several pages and dozens of photos. Some inspectors will also offer videos of your roof recorded with drones.
ASHI
ASHI is the American Society of Home Inspectors, and they claim to be the nation’s leading non-profit professional association for independent home inspectors.
INTERNACHI
InterNACHI is the world’s largest association of professional home and commercial property inspectors. As part of their membership requirements, InterNACHI inspectors have to complete dozens of inspection-related courses and pass hundreds of quizzes and exams.
You want an experienced, licensed, and knowledgeable inspector. While passing an exam is important, actual hands-on experience with manufactured homes is even more important. Also, the inspectors should respect manufactured homes.
HOW MUCH DOES A MANUFACTURED HOME INSPECTION COST?
Most of the inspection sites I reviewed based their inspection rates on the size of the home. They charge a flat fee for a home up to a certain square footage and then charge extra for larger homes. They may have a service area and fuel surcharge, as well.
Many inspectors charge additional fees if they have to drive outside their service area, have to crawl under the home or have to inspect an older home as those usually take extra time. Barns and other buildings on the property will usually cost extra, too.
SUMMARY
A home inspection can save you thousands of dollars! Manufactured home inspectors look for things such as roof leaks, pier damage, or moisture, and condensation issues that are not easy to spot. The bottom line is a manufactured home inspection is well worth the time and money.
Ascension Home Inspection 